Stacey Plaskett, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ delegate to Congress, visited Jeffrey Epstein at a St. Thomas office tied to a web of shell companies that prosecutors say helped the disgraced financier secure millions in tax breaks, according to emails and court filings reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
Records show Plaskett met Epstein at Southern Trust Company’s St. Thomas office in August 2014, January 2019, and May 2019. The final visit came two months before Epstein was charged with sex trafficking. Virgin Islands prosecutors have alleged Southern Trust and its “deliberately complex network” of subsidiaries defrauded the territory through the Economic Development Authority’s tax incentive program.
Plaskett worked for the Economic Development Authority until 2012.
The meetings could bring renewed scrutiny as Plaskett reportedly considers a run for Virgin Islands governor. She has faced questions for years over her ties to Epstein, who killed himself in jail in August 2019.
In September 2018, Plaskett visited Epstein at his New York home to solicit donations for the Democratic Party. She sent a text message later that day referring to Epstein as her “friend,” according to prior reporting. The message contrasted with Plaskett’s statement in November that she never had “a friendship” with Epstein.
Plaskett’s visits to the Southern Trust office, located about two miles from Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, also drew attention to her relationship with Erika Kellerhals, a longtime Epstein attorney.
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Emails indicate Kellerhals arranged and attended the August 2014 meeting and organized the May 2019 session. The 2014 meeting was initially planned for Epstein’s residence before being moved to “STC,” shorthand for Southern Trust Company. Kellerhals played a central role in forming many Epstein-linked companies later cited by the Virgin Islands attorney general as part of a tax benefits scheme.
In 2012, Kellerhals testified in support of Southern Trust’s application to the tax incentive program, describing the firm as a “biomedical and financial informatics” business.
Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-VI)
The Economic Development Authority approved a 10-year tax incentive package for Southern Trust in 2013, including a 90 percent exemption from income taxes. The Virgin Islands attorney general sued Epstein’s estate in 2020, alleging Southern Trust “did not perform” promised business activities while receiving fraudulent tax breaks. The estate settled for $105 million in 2022.
Kellerhals also facilitated Epstein’s purchase of Great St. James for $22 million in 2016. Prosecutors have alleged Epstein used the island as a “barrier” to prevent victims at Little St. James from “escaping or obtaining help.”
Kellerhals has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Plaskett said in a 2023 deposition that Kellerhals introduced her to Epstein in 2014 “as a potential donor.” Epstein later supported Plaskett’s congressional bid, and several of his employees contributed a combined $10,400 to her campaign, according to campaign finance records.
Plaskett has remained close to Kellerhals. Social media posts show the congresswoman attended a fundraiser at Kellerhals’s home in April 2021. Campaign filings list roughly $1,000 in contributions from Kellerhals that month, along with a donation from another partner at her law firm.
It remains unclear what Epstein and Kellerhals discussed with Plaskett during the Southern Trust meetings.
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